File photo by Wayne Litmer
Patrick Towles of Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.) outdueled fellow big-time Kentucky quarterback Zeke Pike in a 61-13 victory.
Cody Marvel has a new position and a new nickname following a sensational emergency performance that sparked
D'Evelyn (Denver) to a 42-20 football victory over Conifer (Colo.).
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior started the game at safety, but suddenly found himself at quarterback just two minutes into the second quarter when starter Caleb Flack took a hard hit on his helmet and was sidelined for precautionary reasons.
Photo by Lance Wendt
Cody Marvel is now known as "Captain
Marvel" after a super-sub effort.
All he did was complete 14 of 21 passes for 276 yards and five touchdowns. Though listed as a backup quarterback, he had only about six snaps during the past week of practice. In fact, he had no reps at the position as a sophomore and played possibly 10 minutes of mop-up duty as a freshman.
After his amazing performance, he was dubbed "Captain Marvel" – in honor of the DC Comics superhero of the same name - by veteran Denver Post sportswriter Neil Devlin. The nickname caught on the very next day with students and teachers.
Marvel revealed that as of Wednesday's practice he wasn't even assured of the backup quarterback position.
"I was completely surprised," he said of his unexpected role. "It was pretty nerve wracking."
His first two plays were runs — then it was time to get back to what the Jaguars do best: Throw the ball.
"We tried to simplify (the offense)," coach Jeremy Bennett said. "He came to me and said, ‘Let's open it up and let it go.' He understands our system and didn't miss a beat. He has a really high football IQ. He made Conifer pay. He chewed them up."
After a pass interference call, Marvel's next three passes went for touchdowns.
"It really gave me a lot of confidence after that," Marvel said. "We have really good receivers. They went over the top and got them."
He also credited his offensive line with keeping him sack free. In fact, he was forced out of the pocket just once.
Bennett said he had confidence in Marvel because he is an outstanding all-around athlete with good speed. He batted well better than .300 as the starting centerfielder in baseball and can reverse-jam a basketball.
"For a little, skinny dude, he never stops amazing me," Bennett praised. "He's a great safety and a big hitter. If you saw the kid, you wouldn't think he was a great athlete, but he is a great athlete."
Marvel is expected to be the starting signal caller again this week against Palisade (Colo.), but once the 6-2, 215-pound Flack is cleared he undoubtedly will reclaim his position because he is one of the top three senior quarterbacks in the state. Last year he passed for 3,069 yards and 39 touchdowns.
The good news is that whenever the Jaguars get in trouble, they always have Captain Marvel waiting in the wings.
*
Patrick Towles' stock rose greatly after he outdueled more highly ranked quarterback
Zeke Pike to spark
Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.) to a lopsided 61-13 victory over Dixie Heights (Edgewood, Ky.). The 6-6, 235-pound Towles, who has made a commitment to the University of Kentucky, drilled 19 of 29 passes for 397 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception and twice ran for 1-yard scores before sitting out most of the second half. Pike (6-5, 225), who has committed to Auburn, completed just 13 of 25 passes for 107 yards and threw two interceptions. He also sat out most of the second half.
*
Zach Howell, a 6-1, 160-pound junior, passed for 529 yards as
Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) defeated Christ Prep Academy (Kansas City, Kan.), 26-13. Another junior, wide receiver
Prestyn Atherton (5-11, 170), had 251 receiving yards.
*
Montwood (El Paso, Texas) nipped Mayfield (Las Cruces, N.M.) 49-48 in overtime behind 417 passing yards by
Angel Garcia.
* Shanley (Fargo, N.D.) lost to
Fargo North (N.D.) 12-6, ending a 20-game winning streak for the two-time Class 2A defending state champs.
*
Rondreas Truesdale rushed for 347 yards and seven touchdowns to spark
Indian Land (Fort Mill, S.C.) to a 48-39 victory over Blacksburg (S.C.).
*
Gaffney (S.C.) defeated Greenwood (S.C.) 47-21 behind the all-around brilliance of
Joey Copeland, who completed a school-record 99-yard touchdown pass. He finished with 21-for-26 for 391 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for two scores.
*
Ecorse (Mich.) routed Westside Christian Academy (Detroit), 51-16, as
Kyle Dinkins completed 17 of 20 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns.
*
Green River (Wyo.) defeated Douglas (Wyo.) 32-15 to snap a historic 30-game winning streak for the three-time defending Class 3A state champions.
*
Braden Corpus rushed for 353 yards and five touchdowns as
Borah (Boise, Idaho) defeated Rocky Mountain (Meridian, Idaho), 41-28.
* Six-foot-4 sophomore
Anthony Lazard returned interceptions for three touchdowns – two in one quarter – to spark
Urbandale (Iowa) to a 54-8 rout of Hoover (Des Moines, Iowa).
*
Flower Mound (Texas) rolled to a 44-36 victory over Boyd (McKinney, Texas) behind the passing of
Marshall Williams (437 yards and four touchdowns).
* Bendle (Burton, Mich.) overcame 403 passing yards by
Erick Layton to hand Hamady (Flint, Mich.) a 46-38 setback.
*
Tommy Benson fired six touchdown passes – four to
Joel Hopkins – and finished with 388 yards as
Becker (Minn.) defeated Buffalo (Minn.), 42-33.
* Five-time Division 3 reigning state champion East Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids, Mich.) saw its 34-game winning streak broken with a 30-22 loss to
Holland (Mich.).
* He's only a sophomore, but
Will Grier already is being recruited by the likes of Georgia, Florida, Duke and Virginia. The 6-3, 185-pound quarterback completed 26 of 35 passes last week for 478 yards and six touchdowns as
Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.) routed Trinity Christian (Fayetteville, N.C.), 62-34.
*
Charlotte Latin (Charlotte, N.C.) star
Paul Griggs (6-0, 195), who has committed to Purdue University, set a Mecklenburg County record when he kicked a 57-yard field goal during a 23-0 victory over North Cross (Roanoke, Va.).
* Junior quarterback
Robbie Harpring ran for a 2-point conversion to give
Lakota East (Liberty Township, Ohio) a 38-37 victory over Winton Woods (Cincinnati) in a four-overtime thriller.
* Two-time defending Class 2A state champion Scio (Ore.) lost its first game in 29 outings, a 28-6 setback to
Dayton (Ore.).
* Junior
Cooper Bateman passed for 477 yards and five touchdowns to spark
Cottonwood (Salt Lake City) to a 49-37 victory over Brighton (Salt Lake City).
Inoke Lotueluel had 11 catches for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
* In his second start at free safety,
Anthony DeCamillo made four interceptions to lead
Chagrin Falls (Ohio) to a 27-10 victory over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (Chardon, Ohio).
*
Kyle Tack completed 18 of 25 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns while running 14 times for 134 yards and four touchdowns to spark
Merrill (Mich.) to a 70-48 victory over Valley Christian (Saginaw, Mich.). The 5-9, 170-pound senior also accounted for eight touchdowns in his previous outing.
*
Dallas Jesuit rolled past Strake Jesuit (Houston) 51-14 behind the passing of
Jack Brezette (18 of 23 for 375 yards, five touchdowns).
*
Webb City (Mo.) set a state record by blanking Willard (Mo.) 41-0 for its 73rd consecutive regular-season victory.
Photo by Tom Lemming
Dorial Green-Beckham played a game
in Fayetteville, Ark. Perhaps he will
do so in college as well.
* The nation's No. 1 player, wide receiver
Dorial Green-Beckham, helped draw a crowd of 21,124 to the University of Arkansas, but his Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.) team lost to
Rogers Heritage (Ark.), 37-20. Green-Beckham, who has Arkansas on his short list of colleges, made seven catches for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
*
Brody Rosenberg passed for 404 yards to lead
Elkhart Memorial (Ind.) to a 17-10 victory over Goshen (Ind.).
*
Phil Molina kicked a 53-yard field goal with 1:22 remaining to give
River Ridge (New Port Richey, Fla.) a dramatic 17-14 victory over Fivay (Hudson, Fla.).
Continue reading for more sports